A plan for Ontario

The problems facing Ontario share one thing in common: Kathleen Wynne's Liberal government just doesn't care about you anymore. Her government is untrustworthy. She will say and do anything just to stay in power.

You work harder than ever before and pay more than ever before. Yet Kathleen Wynne and her government continue to waste your hard-earned money and spend your tax dollars on schemes that only benefit Liberal insiders and political elites. There is no respect for taxpayers.

The NDP promise change, but they are not being honest about what their change looks like. The NDP want to double down on Kathleen Wynne's tax-and-spend policies. Under the NDP your gas will be more expensive, your taxes will go up, and your hydro bills will continue to increase. This is because, behind closed doors, the NDP are more about appeasing special interest groups than actually delivering real relief to the people.

I believe you deserve better. You know me. You know what I stand for. You know that I am here for the people. I entered politics to help the little guy. To make life easier for you and your family. Not only so you can make ends meet, but also so you can get ahead and prosper.

We're going to replace Kathleen Wynne and the Liberals with a practical, affordable and responsible government that trusts and respects you.

Ontario is ready for a government that works for the people.

…Not Liberal insiders.

…Not NDP radical special interests.

…But for the people

It's that simple.

No matter what, you can count on me to give you straight talk. I've spent my entire career telling it like it is. I'm going to be up front and honest about what I'm going to do. And I'm going to do what I say I'm going to do.

This also means that I won't make reckless promises. When I make a promise — I keep it. Period.

And here are my promises to you: Five clear, honest commitments you can count on from a government that will focus on the fundamentals and get Ontario back on track.

With your help we can open Ontario for business again; create good jobs; lower your day-to-day costs; bring prosperity back to our province; and restore accountability, respect and trust to Queen's Park.

Doug

Help is on the way.

A Doug Ford Ontario PC government will clean up the mess in government and restore respect for taxpayers.

His government will put the people ahead of insiders and elites by focusing on five clear priorities.

We will:

Fire the $6 million man running Hydro One and lower your hydro bills by 12%.

CREATE GOOD JOBS

Send the message that Ontario is ‘Open for Business’ and bring quality jobs back to Ontario by lowering taxes, stabilizing hydro bills and cutting job-killing red tape.

RESTORE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRUST

Order a line-by-line audit of government spending to bring an end to the culture of waste and mismanagement in government.

CUT HOSPITAL WAIT TIMES

End hallway health care by creating 15,000 new long-term care beds over the next 5 years and adding $3.8 billion in new support for mental health, addictions and housing.

hydro

For too long, well-connected insiders have been getting rich off your hydro bills. The Green Energy Act alone represents Ontario's largest-ever wealth transfer from the poor and middle class to the rich.

Once upon a time, Ontario used to be a leader in hydro, with stable prices that helped attract and create jobs. We can lead again, but change is needed now.

An Ontario PC Government will clean up the Liberal hydro mess, fire the millionaire hydro executives getting rich off of your bills and act to ensure our electricity system works for the people, once again. This means no carbon tax or cap-and-trade schemes. And it also means that, after years of skyrocketing electricity rates, your hydro bills will finally start coming down.

We will:

Clean up the Hydro Mess and fire the board of Hydro One and its $6-million-dollar CEO. Our first act will be to end the Liberal practice of making millionaires from your hydro bills!

Stop sweetheart deals by scrapping the Green Energy Act.

Cut hydro rates by 12% for families, farmers, and small businesses by:

Returning Hydro One dividend payments to families.

Stopping the Liberal practice of burying the price tag for conservation programs in your hydro bills and instead pay for these programs out of general government revenue.

Cancel energy contracts that are in the pre-construction phase and re-negotiate other energy contracts.

Declare a moratorium on new energy contracts.

Eliminate enormous salaries at Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One.

Stabilize industrial hydro rates through a package of aggressive reforms.

What this will cost:

Hydro One Dividend - $300-$400 million per year.

Moving Conservation Programs to Tax Base - $433 million per year.

rebuilding Ontario

We can also do more to help other parts of Ontario get moving. Whether it is by investing in expanded broadband, increasing local infrastructure funding, or exploring highway expansion across the province. Ontario businesses, families and workers can all count on an Ontario that will move faster than ever before.

We will:

Deliver two-way, all-day GO service, including expansions to Bowmanville, Kitchener and completing the Niagara GO Expansion, and support regional transit projects in places such as Ottawa, Hamilton, Mississauga/Brampton, Kitchener-Waterloo and London.

Upload responsibility for subway infrastructure, including the building and maintenance of new and existing subway lines, from the City of Toronto to the Province. Add $5 billion in new subway funding to the $9 billion already available to build the Sheppard Loop with Scarborough, the Relief Line, and the Yonge Extension while building future crosstown expansions underground. Keep responsibility for day-to-day operations, including labour relations, with the City of Toronto along with a guarantee that the City will continue to keep all revenue generated by the subway system.

Actively explore potential for high-speed rail and highway projects including the potential six-laning of Highway 401 to the 416 between Toronto and Ottawa. Also, complete the environmental assessment for the GTA West Corridor, invest in increasing safety on the 401 West and four-lane Highway 17 in eastern Ontario and Highway 3 in Southwestern Ontario.

Expand natural gas distribution to rural communities by enabling private sector participation and use the up to $100 million in savings to invest in cellular and broadband expansion.

Increase the Risk Management Program (RMP) cap by $50 million annually to help farmers and other producers better manage risks outside of their control.

Upload Toronto Subway System - Costing to be amortized over life of subway projects once operational, plus $160 million per year for existing assets.

Highway Improvement Plan - $20 million for studies/401 improvements, $5 million per year for Highways 3 and 17 amortized over 50 years once completed.

Natural Gas and Broadband/Cellular Expansion – Up to $100 million in savings by enabling private sector to expand natural gas, with savings re-invested in broadband/cellular projects.

Risk Management Program Increase - $50 million per year, starting in year three.

restoring responsibility, accountability and trust:

Ontario doesn't have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. Efficiencies exist all across the government, whether it is how different agencies and ministries purchase goods or how they deliver services.

The Liberal budget deficit is accompanied by a trust deficit. People see that the system just isn't working for them anymore.

By opening up the books to an outside audit and expanding the resources available to Ontario's Auditor General we will rebuild responsibility, accountability and trust so Ontario can get back on track.

We will:

Launch an independent commission of inquiry whose mandate is to get to the bottom of the deficit scandal and to propose timely solutions to solving the deficit problem. As part of this effort, we will call in an outside audit of Kathleen Wynne’s reckless management of Ontario’s finances and make the final results of the audit public.

Expand the Auditor General’s authority to include approval of government ads that Kathleen Wynne took away.

Return to a balanced budget on a responsible timeframe.

Centralize government purchasing.

Conduct a value-for-money audit of every government program.

Put a stop to political elites abusing the public trust, including preventing government agencies, boards, and commissions from buying pricey tables to political speeches and events.

What this will cost:

Value-for-Money Audit and Commission of Inquiry - $1 million total.

respect for taxpayers

Under Kathleen Wynne you are paying more and getting less. And under the NDP you can count on paying more.

Our commitment to lower taxes is also a commitment to fairer taxes. There is no excuse for continuing to tax low-income Ontario workers who are making minimum wage. We're going to make Ontario's tax system fairer for low-income households by making sure that minimum wage workers pay no income tax.

We will:

Put more money in your pocket and save an average household over $450 per year by:

Cutting hydro rates by 12% for families, farmers, and small businesses, saving an average family over $170 a year.

Scrapping the Carbon Tax and cancelling Kathleen Wynne’s cap-and-trade slush fund, saving an average family $285.

Cut income taxes by 20% for the second income-tax bracket, saving you up to $786 a year.

Challenge, in the Supreme Court of Canada, any attempt by the federal government to impose a carbon tax on Ontario families.

Reduce gas prices: lower gasoline taxes by 10 cents a litre and diesel taxes by 10.3 cents a litre, saving you every time you fill up your car or truck

Stop taxing the poor: Introduce a minimum-wage tax credit so those on minimum wage pay no tax.

Give parents a break: Create a 75% refundable tax credit for child care costs for children aged 0 - 15 and respect parents by leaving to them the choice of what kind of child care is best for their kids.

Amend the Assessment Act to ensure that Ontario Branches of the Royal Canadian Legion pay no property tax

Preserve rent control for existing tenants across Ontario.

Increase the supply of affordable housing across the GTA while protecting the Greenbelt in its entirety.

What this will cost:

12% Reduction to Hydro Bills – Detailed further in hydro section.

Ending Cap and Trade - $1.9 billion per year to be offset by eliminating corresponding slush fund.

Challenge Federal Government on Carbon Taxation - $30 million over mandate.

Lower Gas Taxes by 10 Cents a Litre - $1.19 billion per year.

No Income Tax for Minimum Wage Workers - $558 million per year.

75% Refundable Tax Credit for Childcare - $389 million per year.

jobs

Government doesn’t create sustainable jobs on its own. What Government can do, however, is create the conditions that make it easier to start a business, grow a business or invest in Ontario — and to build an economy that allows more Ontario workers to find a job right here at home.

Instead of corporate welfare, we're going to make our business taxes competitive. Instead of complex regulations that reward the insiders with the best lobbyists, we're going to cut red tape to reward the entrepreneurs with the best ideas.

We will:

End Corporate Welfare: Cancel the corrupt ‘Jobs and Prosperity’ Fund, which the Wynne Liberals have used to give grants and handouts to a small group of businesses on an invite-only basis.

Support Regional Economic Development Funds which provide necessary help to regions like rural and Northern Ontario to attract investments and create good jobs.

Reward Job Creation: Lower business taxes from 11.5% to 10.5% and lower the Manufacturing and Processing rate by the same amount so that more employers can invest, grow and create jobs in Ontario.

Help Small Business: Reduce the small business tax rate by 8.7%.

Cut red tape and stifling regulations that are crippling job creation and growth.

Customer service guarantee: single-window access for approvals with a hard one-year deadline.

Help fill the skills gap by increasing access to apprenticeships and reforming the foreign credential recognition process to help qualified immigrants come to Ontario and contribute to the economy to their fullest potential immediately.

Further expand sales of beer and wine into corner stores, grocery stores, and box stores, based on market demand and not government decree. Maintain the LCBO’s role in wholesale and distribution and as a location for the people of Ontario to buy their beer, wine and spirits.

What this will cost:

Ending Corporate Welfare – Savings of $270 million per year.

Continue Existing Regional Economic Development Funds - Will maintain current funding as detailed in Ontario’s previous economic development budget.

Reducing Business Taxes - $1.3 billion per year starting in year two.

Reducing Small Business Taxes - $60 million per year starting in year two.

health

A health care system that doesn’t work for patients, seniors and families is a health care system that just isn’t working at all. It is unacceptable that, for all the money we invest in health care, people are still left languishing on waitlists or are stuck, frustrated and suffering on stretchers in hospital hallways because there is nowhere to go.

It’s time to listen to front-line medical professionals, including nurses and doctors, to ensure that long-term stable funding is available to do the capacity planning that our health care system deserves.

We will:

Help those in need: Invest $3.8 billion in mental health, addictions and housing supports over 10 years.

Cut hospital wait times and end hallway medicine: Build 15,000 long-term care beds in five years and 30,000 beds in 10 years.

What this will cost:

Increasing Mental Health Funding - Cost shared with federal government, approximately $190 million per year for 10 years.

Free Dental Care for Low-Income Seniors - $98 million per year.

Building New Long-Term Care Beds - Capital costs amortized over duration of asset, total per year cost is $62,000 per bed once operational.

education

At one time, Ontario schools focused on teaching the skills that matter: reading, writing and math. This approach helped to prepare our kids for the challenges of work and life.

Today, however, more and more of our schools have been turned into social laboratories and our kids into test subjects for whatever special interests and so-called experts that have captured Kathleen Wynne's ear.

By ignoring parents and focusing on narrow agendas or force-feeding our kids experimental curricula like 'Discovery Math' the Liberals are leaving our children woefully unprepared to compete with other students from across Canada and around the world. And instead of helping our kids pass their tests, the NDP want to cancel the tests altogether.

It's time to get back to basics, respect parents, and work with our teachers to ensure our kids have the skills they need to succeed.

We will:

Get back to basics: Scrap discovery math and inquiry-based learning in our classrooms and restore proven methods of teaching.

Get back to basics: Ban cell phones in all primary and secondary school classrooms, in order to maximize learning time.

Focus on the fundamentals: Make mathematics mandatory in teachers’ college programs.

Fix the current EQAO testing regime that is failing our kids and implement a standardized testing program that works.

Respect parents: Restore Ontario’s previous sex-ed curriculum until we can install a new one that is age appropriate and based on real consultation with parents.

Uphold moratorium on school closures until the closure review process is reformed.

Mandate universities to uphold free speech on campuses and in classrooms.

Provide an additional $38 million in funding for all children with autism, above and beyond the funding already in the government’s plan.

What this will cost:

Increasing Autism Funding - total $100 million over mandate.

north

The Liberals and NDP like to talk about the North but are quick to forget about the incredible potential in our Northern communities. A PC Government will, finally, open up the incredible resources of our North, starting by cutting through the special interest and bureaucratic delays blocking us from developing the Ring of Fire.

Creating a Cleaner Ontario – Combined cost of all initiatives is $500 million over mandate.

justice

Every Ontario family deserves to live in safety, with peace of mind that they will be protected from gun and gang violence. We will ensure that our laws are up to the task of fighting 21st century issues, while respecting victims and law-abiding families. We will also ensure our brave women and men in law enforcement have the resources they need to keep us safe.

We will:

Restore the funding that the Liberals cut in half to the anti-guns-and-gangs units in Ottawa and Toronto in order to better protect our communities and stop crime.

Dedicate resources to fight organized crime, including the production and smuggling of contraband and illicit drugs, as well as child exploitation and human trafficking.